Street-sweeper



(NO Model.) 4 SheetS-Sheet 1.

W. A. SAWYER.

STREET SWBBPBR.

No. 426,073. PatentedApr. 22, 1890.

(No Mdel.) 4 Sheets- Sheet 2. W. A. SAWYER. STREET SWEEPBR.

No. 426,073. Paten'tedApr. 22, 1890.

Wz'nessaf W W WJ w: 'mms vz-rsas co., Puma-umo., msumu 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

w. A. SAWYBR. STREET SWEPER.

No. 426,073. Patented Apr. ZZ. 1890.

Winesses (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

W. A. SAWYER. f

STREET sWEEPBR..

PatentedA-'pn 22, 1890.

Nirn STATES ATENT OFFICE.

TILLIAM A. SANVYER, OF BRIDGEVATER, NEW` IIAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR TO THE METROPOLITAN EIIEVATOR COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

STREET-'SWEEPER.

SPECIFICATION forming' part Of Letters Patent NO. 426,073, da'ted April 22, 1890.

Application filed January 6, 1890. Serial No. 336,063. (No model.)

T0 aZZ whom it may conccrn:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. SAWYER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgewater, in the county of Grafton and State of New llampshirc, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street- Sweepers, of which the following' is a full specification.

My inyention consists of an iinproved streetsweepin;` and elevating apparatus adapted to be readily attachcd to any ordinary cart to be operated thereby as the cart moves along, the construction being` as hereinafter desoribed.

In the accompanyin1 'drawings, Figure l is a side elcvation of my improved apparatus attached to an ordinary street-cart. Fig. 2 is a dctail View showing` the operation of the universal joint on the friction-pulley shaft. Fig'. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus and cart with the brush removed to show parts lying beneath. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the brush-frame. Fig. 5 is a section on z z, Fig. 3, through the street-sweeperpdetached. Fig'. 0 is an elevation of the apparatus, partly broken away, showing' the side opposite to that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a side View of one of the band-Stays. Fig. S shows in section, on an enlarged scale, the relative position of elevating bands, chains, and stays; and Fig'. 9 is a section, on an cnlarged scale, through the hub of the wheel and the fianged nut for attachin` the sweeper-frame. Fig'. 10 is a perspective sectional View 011 an enlarg'ed scale, showing` the construction and arrangement of the contiguously movable elevator bands and Chains. Fig. 11 is an e11- larg'ed rear view, partly in section, showing' one side of the frame, one of the inclined fenders secured thereto, and adjacent parts; and Fig. 12 is a perspective View of one of the fenders.

rfhe working parts of the sweeper are supported by the frame A A' A2 A, formed of similar pieces on each side. Of these the forwardlyprojecting arms A3 connect the sweeper with the cart in the manner presently to be described, while the rear of the sweeper rests upon the Wheels M, connected With the rear of the bars A2 on each side.

Mounted in suitable bearings I'Ifi on the arms A2 is the shaft h of the brush-frame, which bears the bundles of splints I-I', forming the brush. These splint bundles are adjustablc in such a manner that both the diameter of the brush and the stiffness of the splints may always be kept the same in spite of the wearing away of the brush. The cir' cular end pieces II of the brush-frame are provided with the inner fiangcs 7L5.

h' are radially-niovable cross-pieces tapped near each end thereof to admit the screws 72,2, whose inner ends are seatcd in or against the shaft h, while their heads are in the flanges h, as shown in Figs. a and 5, the construction being such that by turning` the screws 55 7L2 at each end of the cross'pieces h' the said picccs are radially movable in and out at will.

ha are rods arranged in pairs crossing' from one side to the other of the frame between the fianges 71', and between each pair of rods passes a row of splint bundles Irl', the inner ends of these bundles being' secured to the slidin g pieces 7',while the bundles themselves pass through the spaees h", Fig. a, between the wires h* and the rods 71,3. By this arrange- 75 ment the working` ends of the bruslrbundles may be kept always of the same stiffness and length, and the diameter of the brush kept' constant in spite of the wear, by turning' the screws h from time to time, and thus sliding out the bundles. The brush revolves in the direction indicated by the arrow and sweeps up the dirt and rubbish over the dust-pan .I to the elevator.

J' is a cross piece passing between the S5 arms A2 and secured to the under sidcs thereof. To this cross-piece is bolted the metal support j, (see Fig. 5,) near the top of which is a-ttached the continuous strip of leatherj'. (See also Fig. 3.)

J are a number of curved Sections forming the dust-pan, each being,r independently fastencd to the leather strip j' so that they have apivotal movement over stones and obstacles as the cart is moved along. These sections .I are wider at the bottom than at the top, being arranged so that they nearly but not quite touch each other at the bottom, the spaces between them growing` gradually wider toward the top, as seen in Fig. 3, so that ioo as the brush revolves the splints cannot be caught or wedged between the sections of the pan, but always run free. Each section J is preferably re-enforced 'along its bottom with the rodj3, riveted or otherwise secured thereto, as shown in Fig. 11, and so placed as to receive the wear as the various sections move along the ground.

From the dust-pan the dirt is carried direct to the elevator7 which will next be described. In the two sides of the frame are held the numerous shafts or spindles f2 f3 (Z C12 (E2, on which are mounted in pairs the sprocket- Wheels F F' F2 F2 and pulleys D D2 D2, the two Wheels or pulleys constituting` each pair being similarly mounted on its spindle, one near each side of the frame. Over these wheels and pulleys run the endless elevator-chains O C', which are bound along` the edges of two elevator-bands B B' made of canvas or any suitable fiexible material, arranged as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the pair of chains O O being secured to the edges of the endless band B, while the pair of chains O' O' are secured to the edges of the endless band B'. The position of the Wheels and pulleys is such that the two bands through a portion of their path move contiguously one above the other, the faces of the various sprocket-wheels and pulleys being of sufficient width to carry the chains only while the bands which are secured to each pair of chains along their edges are hung between these chains. The pair of chains O, 'secured to the edges of the band B, one on each side, run around the sprocket-wheels and pulleys F F' `D F2 2 D3 D2, (see Fig. 5,) while the pair of chains C',

secured along the edges of the band B', run around the pairs of sprocket-wheels F2 F' and the pulleys D, the arrangement being such that on each side of the bands the chains O' and C move contigu ously, one above the other, between the pulleys D and the sprocketwheels F' the chains and bands moving in the direction indicated by the arrows. At regular intervals between corresponding,` links of each pair of chains run stays b b', which preferably consist of wooden strips of the shape shown in Fig. 7, being thickest in the middle and tapering toward both ends. The ends of these stays are attached by riveting or otherwise to ears c c' on the inside of the links of both' chains,- as indicated in Figs. 3 and 5,the cars serving also as ameans for securing the bands to the chains. These stays serve to hold the dirt and rubbish between the eleVator-bands during the elevating portion of their path, and tothis end are arranged With the flat surface outward, while the convex surface is next to the band, as shown in Figs. 8 and 10, the bands being` riveted or otherwise secured to the stays. I prefer to so arrange the stays that through that portion of the path of the two bands where they move contiguously--I e., through the ele- Vating portion-the stays b' on the band B' are slightly in advance of the stays b on the band B, and since the increased thickening of the material of the stay comes on the inside altogether-. e., on the side next the bandand since the chains C and O' are in contact, it follows that as the belts come together and move contiguously upward during the elevating portion the two bands will assume along their center a somewhat zi gzag shape, similar to that shown in Figs. 5 and 10, the natural sagging of the bands between the Stays being to someextent taken up by the bulging shape of the stays, the dirt and rubbish being thus securely held between the bands. The band B has at the bottom and top the receiving 'and delivering portions b2 '192, respectively, which preferably move horizontally, the dirt being directly swept from the pan J upon the receiving-apron b2, formed by the lower portion of the band B. To keep the band B practically tangential to the dust-pan through its entire width, I employ the roller O, mounted on the same spindle 2 as the sprocket-wheels F2, and turning therewith and occupying the space between the two sprocket-wheels F2 of the pair. This roller O is provided with a longitudinal groove o, Fig. 5, along` its face of a size sufficient to contain a stay b within it, and the circumference of the roller is preferably just equal to the distance between the stays, so that as each stay Z) comes to the roller in the course of its jonrney it engages With the groove o, thus presentinga smooth outer surface at all times to the top of the dust-pan along its full length as the band moves around the roller. From the receiVing-apron 112 the dirt is carried up by the contigruously-moving` bands, in the manner previously described, being finally carried along the deliveringapron D2 and discharged into the body W of the cart, it being understood that all portions of the band B act successively as the receiving-apron, the elevating portion, and the delivery-apron. The ends of the spindles f3 and, on which are mounted the sprocketwheels F3 and F- at the upper ends of the elevator-bands, are held in movable boxes 12 12, which slide in slotsi a a', respectively, in the two sides of the frame, their position being controlled by the screws I I'. In this manner the tension of the eleVator-band chains may be readily adj usted.`

The street-sweeper is attached to the cart by connecting the arms A3 to extensions of IIO the axle beyond the hubs of the Wheels, this the langed attaching-nuts U in the manner shown in Fig. 9. These attaching-nuts U are provided with fianges u u', which project beyond the wheel-h ubs and em brace the material of the proj eeting arms A3, the slots (L3 in which are adapted to fit over the said attachingnuts in a manner easily understood by reference to Figs. 1 and 9. The distance between the two arms A3 is such that they pass out-- side the hubs of the wheels on each side, and engage with the attaching-nuts U in the manner deseribed, being elamped when in place by the serews or bolts C42, the inner ends of which are preferably provided with elastic eushions af, which are interposed between the end of the bolts and the material of the attaehing-nuts in such a manncr as to lesson the jarring effect of the swceper. The extensions of the eart-axle nuts are thus the only points of attachment of the sweeperframe. These extensions 01' flanged attaching-nuts U may be unserewed at any time, when desired, from the aXle-nuts U', so that the cart may be used irrespeetive of the sweeper and without having any projeetions beyond the wheel-hubs.

E E are friction-wheels mounted to turn looscly on the shaft e, which is journaled in the two sides of the sweeper-frame. These wheels are situated in proper position laterally to engage by frictional contact with the tires of the cart-wheels 72 being preferably provided for this purpose with the rubber rims e'. All the moving parts of the swccper are actuated through the shaft c, which can be turned onlyin one direetion. To this end thehub of each wheel E has attaehed thereto the pawl G, (see Fig. 5,) which engages with the ratchet-wheel G', fixed on the shaft e, the pawl being kept in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet by means of the spring g, the ratehet-teeth being so pointed that when the cart is moving forward the shaft e is turned in the properl direetion through the engagement of the wheel 7' with the frietion-wheel E. 'Vhen, however, the cart is backed, or by the shying of the horse either of the cartwheels is turned in the reverse direction, the friction-wheel engaging therewith, which of course is reversed, does not act to turn the shaft e, but the pawl simply slips along the teeth of the ratchet G', so that when the cart is backed none of the meehanism is moved.

Fixed on the shaft e to turn therewith is the sprocket-wheel N', outside the frame, Fig. G, which, through the chain L2 and the exterior sprocket-wheels N2 and N, fixed on the elevator-spindles f' and fg, respectively., give motion to the elevator chains and bands. On

the opposite side of the frame to the exterior sprocket-wheel NS is fixed on the same shaft c the sprocket-wheel E', which, through the ehain L and the second sprocket L3, mounted fast 011 the brush-shaft 71, gives motion t-o the brush.

The rear of the machine rests upon the easter-wheels M, the shanks of which are inclined, as shown, and are attached to the rear of the arms A2 by means of the plates m and m'. i

The hcight of the rear end of the machine, and hence the pressure of the brush on the ground, may be varied according to the position of the ad justable eollar'm2 011 the easterwheel shank, against which collar the lower plate m' bears.

Then the cart, with the sweeper attached, is baeked, the rear end of the sweeper is raised by reason of the inclined shanks of the easter-whecls, and the sections J, forming the dust-pan, resting against the cross-piece jz, attached to the cross-piece J', are lifted from the ground, thus preventing them from injury.

Then the sweeper is removed from the cart, the forward portion thereof is supported. by adjustable supports consisting, as here shown, of the serews (L5, provided with feet at their lower ends and having handles a'* at their tops,whereby they may be serewed up or down in the side pieces. Then attached to the cart the serews (L5 are serewed up, as shown in Fig. 1.

The brush-frame and dust-pan, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 3, are much wider than the elevato1'-`1 )amls, being` made to sweep as close as possible to the inner sides of the frame.

At each side of the reeeivin g portion 123 of the band B, I employ a guide or fender K', screwed 01' otherwise secured to the sides of the frame, upon which the dirt swept up by the ends of the brush is carried. The bottom of these guides, as shown in Figs. 11 and 2, are inclined downward and project over the band, so that whatever dirt is swept up on them along the inclined portion L2 is siftcd down by the jarring action of the sweeper and deposited on the band. At the inner ends of the fcnders K' are the fingers k', proje'eting still farther over the band, which are for the purpose of carrying stones and other large objects down upon the band and preventing them from engaging with and clogging the elevator-ehains.

As the wheels of ordinary refuse-carts are dished or inclined inward so that the rims of the two wheels are nearer together at the bottom than at the top, I sometimes employ the arrangement shown in Fig. 2 when the dishing of the eart-wheels is considerable. In this case the two sides A of the frame are connected by the cross-piece A4, from the center of which depends the hanger A5.

The shaft e of the friction-wheels, instead of passing completely through from side to side, is made in two pieees, each of which is connected by universal joints E2 E3, with a short shaft running in a central bearing Et, this bearing being preferably provided With a stem or supporting`piece e, which may be clamped at varying heights in the hanger Ar to be adj usted to different carts. This allows the friction-wheels to be inclined to correspond with the dishing of the Cart-Wheels.

VVhen the dishing of the Wheels is slig'ht, no universal joint need be employed.

I claim- 1. In a streetsweeper, the combination, with pulleys and sprocket-wheels, of two contiguously-inovable flexible endless bands provided With stays to meet in pairs and with endless Chains along' their edges engaging with said sproCket-wheels and held in Suspension between the Chains, the said Chains moving in surface-contact with each other, substantially as described.

2. In a street-sweeper, two contiguouslymovable endless bands provided with cndless Chains along' their edges, having at regular intervals stays arranged to ineet in pairs passing' across said bands and Connecting Corresponding` links of each pair of said Chains, substantially as and for 'the purposes described.

3. In a street-sweeper, an endless band provided with endless Chains bound along' its edges and provided at regular intervals With stays passing across said band, connecting corresponding,` links of said Chains, said band having an upwardly-inoving' elevating portion, in combination with a second endless band similarly provided with Chains and stays moving Contiguously with the elevating' portion of the first and having its stays slightly in advance of those in the first, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. In a street-sweeper, the combination, with sprocket-wheels and pulleys arrang'ed in pairs, of two Contig'nously-movable endless bands having` endle'ss Chains bound along' their edg'es, said Chains and bands being provided with dirt-retaining Stays, arranged in pairs and Operating substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. In a street-sweeper, two Contiguouslyinovable endless bands provided With endless Chains along' their edg'es and having' stays b b', thickest in the middle and tapering' to- Ward the ends, connecting` correspondin` links of said Chains, substantially as and for the purposes described.

6. In a street-sweeper, the combination, with elevator-bands, of a brush and dust-pan wider than said bands, and fenders K' provided with inclined portions 762 on either side of and projecting over said bands, substaning' of a number of Curved metal sections J,

independently fastened to the continuous leatherstripj', the said sections being' wider at the bottoin than at the top, substantially as and for the purposes described.

9. The Combination, with a dust-pan made in Sections independently fastened to a continuous strip of leather, of an elevator-band provided with stays and a longitudinallygrooved rollerO at thebottoin of the elevatorband, arranged and Operating' substantially as and for the purposes described.

10. The co1nbination,with a street-sweeper having arms A3, provided with fastening-slots, of fiang'ed attaChing-nuts Uand aXle-nutsU', provided with exterior screw-threads engaging with said attaChing-nuts, substantially as described.

11. A street-sweeper provided with elevator and brush driving friCtion-wheels engag'ing with 'the Wheels of the Cart, to which the sweeper is attaehed, the said Wheels being I'nounted on shafts connected by universal joints, whereby the said friction-wheels may run at an inclination to each other, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

VILLIAM A. SAWYER.

Witnesses:

WM. B. H. DowsE, ALBERT LEACH. 

